New Poll: Black Voters Overwhelmingly Support Student Debt Forgiveness; More Black Voters’ Attitudes on DOJ Trump Investigation, Climate Change (BlackTrack)

Washington, D.C. | October 11th – On the heels of President Biden’s student loan forgiveness announcement and other major legislative actions, HIT Strategies’ monthly survey of Black voters showed support for President Biden and Congressional Democrats remaining high. Biden and Democrats’ approval increased since last month79% approval and 82% approval, respectively. Currently, 56% of Black voters believe President Biden has made progress on issues affecting Black voters, an increase of 12 points since July. 

The September survey revealed that 86% of Black voters supported President Biden’s loan forgiveness plan, including 60% who “strongly supported” the policy. These figures are considerably higher than those in the general population, where just 51% of all voters support Biden’s loan forgiveness plan, according to an Economist/YouGov survey released in September. 

“President Biden’s loan forgiveness plan represents another promise fulfilled on one of the most critical economic priorities for Black voters,” said Terrance Woodbury, a founding partner at HIT Strategies. “Now, the President must message this plan directly to voters and continue to illustrate how his policies are improving the economic well-being of Black America.” 

Furthermore, 81% of Black voters support the DOJ’s probe into former President Trump, and 80% of Black voters believe the former President should face criminal charges for his actions- which is also significantly higher than support among the general population. The aforementioned Economist/YouGov survey showed that only 54% of voters approved of the DOJ’s investigation, and just 45% believed that Trump should face criminal charges. 

More Takeaways from September BlackTrack 

Black Voters and Midterms 

• The number of Black voters who say they will vote in the midterm elections increased from 79% to 82% since last month 
• The number of Black voters who believe their vote has the power to effect change on the issues that matter to them increased from 64% to 67% since last month 

Black Voters and Climate Change 

• 84% of Black voters report that climate change is important to their decision to vote in the midterm elections 
• 95% of Black voters believe the climate is changing; 69% believe the climate is changing mostly as a result of human activity 

This BlackTrack survey was fielded via an online opt-in panel from September 15-19, 2022, with a margin of error of +/-3.1%. The information above represents selected data from the BlackTrack survey.  

About BlackTrack 
BlackTrack is HIT Strategies’ recurring monthly national survey of 1,000 Black voters ages 18+ on current social and political issues. BlackTrack tracks Black Americans’ opinions and disaggregates the data into demographic groups to understand Black voters’ full diversity. The majority of BlackTrack data is proprietary and available for subscribers. For more information on previous data or to subscribe, go to hitstrat.com/blacktrack. 

About HIT Strategies  
As the only millennial and minority-owned public opinion research company, HIT Strategies maintains an unmatched cultural competence in understanding and communicating to young audiences and diverse communities like LGBTQ+ Black Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders.  We help our clients translate their target audience’s values, attitudes, and behaviors into real-time insights and messaging. For more information, visit hitstrat.com and follow us on social media @HITStrat.    

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